Five years ago, Toronto’s Connor Daynard was 20 years old and didn’t know how to play poker. That is when the pandemic hit and a buddy of his sent him and some other guys $50 so they could start an online home game. Now, Daynard is closing in on the final table of his first-ever World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event, one of only a handful of live events he’s played.
“It's kind of a dream come true,” the 25-year-old told PokerNewson a break with 16 players remaining. “I didn't think I could have a run like this.”
Daynard’s run in the CAD $5,300 WPT Playground Championship is quite electrifying – literally. Earlier this year, he completed a five-year electrician apprenticeship, but instead of pursuing a career in that field, he unplugged and decided to take a chance on poker.
“I was playing poker throughout my apprenticeship and getting good. As soon as I finished, I quit and took on poker full time and here we are two months later, final 16 with CAD $400K up top. So, pretty exciting.”
While hundreds if not thousands of poker players have dropped out of various educational endeavors to pursue poker, Daynard didn’t. He wanted to finish, but only so it could become a safety net of sorts when he inevitably took the poker leap.
"It is just running pure, doing a lot of putting pressure on people when I can, doing one or two crazy bluffs."
“It was always a great backup and I decided about a year or two ago that I was going to quit and pursue poker full-time, but I had to finish off the apprenticeship, so it wasn't a waste of time,” he admitted. “My friends were super on board, but my family was a bit iffy about the whole thing. But I showed them the numbers and they're on board. They support me.”
Daynard’s friends, including WPT Global Ambassador Patrick Tardif, and family may’ve second-guessed their support days earlier when he fired nine bullets in the CAD $1,100 WPT Playground Prime and failed to bag. His luck soon turned around.
“I come here, fire one bullet, bag the chip lead on Day 1, and then bag third in chips on Day 2,” he said with a smile. “And now here we are probably like third or fourth and chips. It is just running pure, doing a lot of putting pressure on people when I can, doing one or two crazy bluffs, and so making moves and it's paying off, but running very well.”
Daynard was actually at the Playground for the second time in as many months as he was there in September for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) International Circuit stop. Unfortunately, he didn’t do much there aside from a small min-cash.
In fact, prior to his run in the WPT Playground, Daynard had just $27,999 in live tournament earnings according to the Hendon Mob. That included a career-high $9,126 for finishing 26th in the 2022 WSOP Event #43: $500 NLH Freezeout.
However, Daynard cut his chops playing online, which is where he won a satellite that’ll see him return to Las Vegas. Days after the WPT Playground wraps, Daynard will head to Resorts World for the NAPT Las Vegas $5,300 Main Event.
Daynard sat in the middle of the pack with 16 players remaining and was already guaranteed a new-career high $19,795 in prize money, but of course he had high hopes of capturing the $296,779 first-place prize. No matter where he finishes, it is apparent that Daynard’s future is sure to be electric.
You can follow Daynard’s progress in the WPT Playground Championship by following their live updates here.
*Photos courtesy World Poker Tour (WPT) / Alicia Skillman
